


Of Cripples and Naps

by mortythesociopath



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Fluffy things, M/M, Mild Angst, Mild Language, college stress, poor Hakuryuu having to deal with modern era prosthetics, roommates are terrible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-19
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-05-02 11:20:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5246426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mortythesociopath/pseuds/mortythesociopath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern College AU where Hakuryuu has a library work study job and Judar is a near permanent resident of the library's "nap corner." Nothing says true love like waking you up from a nap.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Squeaky Wheels are a Napper's Worst Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome one and all! forgive any typos and I own not a damn thing in this here world but my laptop and a small fragment of my own soul (its up for sale to the next fandom or human who happens to take interest) Anyway, hope you like!

Hakuryuu

Hakuryuu painstakingly drug the overloaded book trolley ever so slowly over the threshold and into the tiny dark room, groaning internally as the bum wheel of the ancient vehicle squealed in protest; he froze, breath held, as the lean figure on the couch shifted and roused from his sleep.

“What the hell, man?” The young man growled sleepily, glaring with blurry eyes at the intruder.

“Sorry, sir! The trolley has a bad wheel.” Hakuryuu explained.

“Whatever, just be quiet next time.” The raven haired man yawned before rolling over and promptly falling back to sleep. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t take your naps in the public library, then no one would wake you up – ever think of that?” The blue eyed boy grumbled under his breath as he continued on his way back to the small library office he worked for. Honestly – why did the “nap corner” have to be the only route between his office and the rest of the library? He was always stumbling in on random nappers and having to take great pains to avoid disturbing their rest – a hard task with a squeaky book cart and a prosthetic leg. He sighed, banging the cart into the wall as he wrestled the roughly stuck door open to shove it inside. This job would be so much easier if everything wasn’t broken. The trolley was broken. The door was broken. He was broken. He glared down at his prosthetic arm in disgust. As if being crippled wasn’t enough to make him a taboo to everyone around he also had terrible burn scars to deal with as well. He was glad the man on the couch had been half asleep and thusly hadn’t noticed Hakuryuu’s disfigurement. He hated the stares and questions most of all – that was the main reason he always wore his ratty black hoodie pulled down low over his eyes. It was actually kind of nice to be berated like a normal person as opposed to pitied and regarded as lesser due to his condition. He almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of it – being happy about being grouched at. 

He finally manhandled the obnoxious device back into his workstation and started opening the mail – which by the way is disgusting to do with only one arm, and far more difficult than it may seem. He pulled a face at the dirty taste of the Manella envelope as he ripped the top open with his teeth. 

“Ryuu, honey would you like some help with that?” His boss cooed, noticing his struggle.

“No that’s ok, I’ve got it.” He smiled gently back at the motherly woman. He’d been working here for nearly three weeks now, and it hadn’t gotten any easier – more menial, benign, and methodical maybe; but not easier. It helped that his boss was incredibly sweet and seemed determined to let him do things for himself – only offering assistance when he seemed to be struggling. Whenever a simple task got the better of him or his old injuries were giving him pain she always came to his aid with a smile and a plethora of friendly chatter. The thing was – Hakuryuu hated to admit that anything was too much for him. He hated feeling useless. But she didn’t treat him like he was useless, or like a child who needed someone to do everything for him. She was just a really nice lady, and so Hakuryuu didn’t mind it so much when she helped. 

“Gah!” He groaned, holding up his finger and watching the bright crimson blood run over the cut and dribble down his hand. 

“Dammit.” He growled. “Hey, Stacey, do you have any Band-Aids?”

“Oh, Dear!” The kindly woman gasped, running to grab things to clean him up. He chuckled at how worked up she was over a simple papercut. She came back and fixed his wound, cooing the entire time, and then assigned him to his next task of the day – book pulling.

Hakuryuu glared at the archaic cart as he tugged it mercilessly through the door. Its bum wheel clacked in time with his own limp as he made his way back down the hall.

“Dammit! He’s still here?” He groaned inwardly, shooting a glare in the direction of the slumbering boy on the couch. With an audible sigh he began the painstaking process of sneaking the loud ass cart through the room without waking the sleeper. He failed miserably. 

“I thought I told you to be quiet?” The other boy grumbled with slitted eyes.

“Sorry again, the cart’s loud. I have to come through here to do my job; I was trying not to wake you.”

“Whatever, man.” The raven haired boy yawned and sat up, “Turn the light on would you?”

“Sure.” Hakuryuu replied and flicked the switch next to his position on the wall, giving him his first real look at the other man. The napper grinned and stretched to his full length, exposing his well-toned abdomen and perfect white teeth.

“So, you work here?”

“Yeah, in the loans department, pretty boring, but it helps pay for my tuition.”

“That’s neat.” The boy grinned again, flipping his long braid over his shoulder to inspect the damage his nap had placed on it. 

“I gue – damn, your hair’s long.” 

“Thanks – I’ve never cut it. Why are you wearing that ratty hoodie? It’s hot in here.”

“M’Always cold.” Hakuryuu mumbled in response, shit he was starting to get curious. “Well, I’ve gotta get back to work so I guess I’ll see you around.” He said and made his escape – walking stiffly to hide his limp from the strange man on the couch.

Damn, that boy was kinda hot though. No Ryuu! You can’t do that here, he thought to himself. Besides, what kind of guy would like an ugly scarred, half-man like himself? 

 

Judar

All he wanted to do was sleep. Dammit why was his roommate so infuriating? The man never. Fucking. Slept. Not at night anyway – and Judar had fucking 8a.m. classes. Fucking Ja’far and his stupid, fucking drunkard of a boyfriend, Sinbalooee, or whatever the fuck his damned name was. So yeah, he’d had taken up sleeping in the “nap corner” of the library whenever he had a break between classes. The little couch was super comfy – especially when you were exhausted from being kept up all night by a loud ass drunk and a long ass medieval English paper due the next day. Gods above, Judar was so tired. But then that boy with his shrieking trolley kept coming through. But at least he was kind of intriguing. Jud really wanted to see his face. All he’d been able to make out under the ratty black hoodie and the indigo hair was one strikingly blue eye. Jud loved blue eyes. Dammit boy, pull yourself together, he sighed. He had way too much work to be doing – and way too much sleep to catch up on to be caught fantasizing over some guy he’d shared maybe two minutes conversation with. He screwed up his face and rubbed his eyes. Fuck if he didn’t have a shit ton of work to do. He drug his ancient computer up out of his ratty backpack and went to start typing on his paper for his next class. He should really stop procrastinating so much – it was going to kill him one of these days.  
Finally, around 7 that night, Judar was finally done for the day – and determined to get a fucking good night’s rest he went back to the library. Hell if he wouldn’t stay there until they closed. He crashed out onto the couch in the nap corner, wishing he’d brought a thin blanket just to have something to pull over him. 

“Why the hell are you still here?” The indigo haired boy inquired from the doorway. 

“Only place to catch some sleep.” He gruffed in response. 

“Don’t you have, I dunno, a dorm or something?” 

“Roommate sucks. Never sleeps. Boyfriend loud as fuck.” Jud replied, becoming less coherent the more exhausted he became. “Why’re you still here?”

“Working. I’m here some pretty odd hours to get it in around my crazy class schedule. Woohoo for majoring in Political Science.” The other boy grinned.

“I know what you mean; I’m a double major in English and International Studies – never a free second.”

“Gross.” He laughed, Jud could feel the other man staring at the back of his raven haired head as his muffled voice climbed sleepily from the cushions. “I guess I’ll leave you to your nap then, see ya around.”

Jud mumbled something incoherent as he heard the blue eyed boy leave, and promptly fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Naps? I Thought You Said "Paper Storm"

Hakuryuu

“Where is that again?” The indigo haired boy inquired with a confused look towards his boss.

“Fifth floor.” She replied with a grin and sent him on his way to the “cultural studies” shelves. He was strangely disappointed to discover that the nap corner was unoccupied as he banged his way through it with the rickety old contraption he tried to pass of as a book cart. He wondered where the raven haired man might be, before shaking it off and continuing on with his day – the other was probably in class, and besides, what did he care?

He sighed and shook his head; he didn’t have time to think about other people. Not friends, and especially not passing attraction, he had way too much on his plate for that bullshit. Between his crazy work and class schedule, his family responsibilities, and physical therapy, he was all booked – hell he was lucky he had time to sleep. Who was he kidding? He almost never slept. Every time he closed his eyes he had nightmares. With another shake of his head he pushed all thought of the red-eyed man from his mind and continued on his way to locate the pile of book requests on his cart.

Around an hour of searching later he finally made his way back to the third floor, his trolley overloaded with books, and thusly incredibly difficult to handle. He growled at it angrily as it tried to twist away from his one-handed death grip. With much effort, he managed to get the contrary old beast to straighten out and head toward the now darkened nap corner. Shit. Now he was going to have to try and make the damn thing be quiet. He took a deep breath and slowly maneuvered the trolley through the doorway, or would have if the pissy thing hadn’t decided to lock its bum wheel up and go tumbling to the ground, taking him with it.

“Shit!” He cried, just before the massive crash that sounded on his contact with the ground.

 

Judar

He woke to the most horrendous crash he’d heard since… well he didn’t want to think about the last sound he’d heard like that. 

“Are you okay?” He yelled as he fumbled along the wall for the light switch.

“Yeah, I’m fine, ow.” A familiar voice answered from the direction of the floor. He finally found the light and flicked it on, turning to see the insane mess scattered around the room – complete with one indigo haired boy sprawled next to an overturned book cart, rubbing his head with one hand. The boy looked up at him, blue eyes meeting unnatural red, and Judar felt his breath catch in his throat.

“What happened to you?” He asked gently, falling to his knees at the scarred man’s side and gently grabbing his jaw to turn his head toward him.

“I’m fine man, really, let go.” 

“Sorry, I just… seriously, what’s all this from?” Jud asked, awkwardly releasing the other man’s face to gesture instead at his burn scars.

“Nothing, it was a long time ago.” He responded evasively, one hand still resting atop his head of thick blue-black hair, the other awkwardly stiff at his side.

“Uh, your hand…?”

“It’s prosthetic. The leg too.” He replied, pulling his good hand down to thump his right shin roughly, causing a hollow sounding ring.

“Damn, I’m sorry man. That sucks. How’s your head?” Jud grimaced, once more grabbing the other man’s face to feel of where he’d been rubbing on his head. “You’ve got a nice bump there.”

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. As you can see, I’ve had worse.” The smaller man smirked with a slight blush, pulling himself out of Judar’s grip, and shifting uncomfortably.

“It appears that way. Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. You scared me is all – I don’t like loud noises.” Jud replied with a barely perceptible shudder – he hoped the other didn’t notice.

“No, it’s okay… I just... I don’t know. I hate for people to actually see me you know? They look at me but they don’t see me – they just see all this.” The boy gestured to his body with his prosthetic hand with a small smile; letting Jud know he had, in fact, noticed the shudder.

“Well, fuck them. You’re a person, not a cripple.” Jud growled and stood up, making the other look up at him in surprise. He grinned down at him before flipping the toppled cart back onto its wheels and beginning to pick up all the books and papers scattered around the floor. The scarred man shook his head with a small smile and shifted onto his knees to help gather the debris. 

“Uh, I really hate to ask, but can you maybe help me up?” The blue-eyed boy blushed once all the mess was cleared up.

“Hm? Oh, sure, sorry, didn’t even think about that.” Jud replied, and came over to offer him a hand. The smaller boy smiled his thanks before moving to tug his hood back over his face. “What do you do that for?”

“I dunno, I just don’t like people staring at me I guess… it’s not like my face is an easy thing to overlook.”

“You shouldn’t have to hide your face away for other people’s benefit.” Judar growled.

“It’s not really for them.”

“It is though, you say it’s because you don’t want to deal with them staring but if people wouldn’t react negatively to anything that looks just a little different than them then you wouldn’t have to worry about it. Trust me I know, mines just a little easier to ignore.” The raven haired man said, gesturing to his demonically red eyes.

“Yeah, I guess.” The boy released in a small chuckle. “Why are your eyes that color, I thought maybe it was just contacts?”

“Hell if I know, I was born like this.”

“How strange.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He responded, shifting uncomfortably.

“No, I mean, yes it’s strange, but in an intriguing way, not a bad way, I think it’s kinda cool.” The smaller man scrambled to right his perceived wrongdoing.

“Thanks.” Judar laughed. “You know yours isn’t that bad either.”

“Fuck that man, I know I’m hideous.”

“No you’re not. Not really. Sure you’ve got a few scars, but they’re not that much of a put off.”

“Dude, I’m a fucking cripple with nasty burns all over my face – real hard to pick up mates when natural selection says you’re the predator’s next easy meal.”

“Guess it’s good humans are on top of the food chain then, eh?” Jud grinned. “I’m Judar by the way, friends call me Jud.”

“Hakuryuu – Ryuu for short.” The smaller boy responded slowly, seeming to still be recovering from his shock at the nearly flirtatious tone of that last remark. Seriously though, where had that come from? Jud was way too busy to be flirting with anyone – especially cute cripple boys with pretty blue eyes. “Nice, uh, talking to you. I guess I should get back to work.”

“See ya around, Ryuu.” The raven haired boy grinned again, apparently unable to control the flirty tone in his voice. 

“See you around… Jud.” The smaller man blushed and fled the room, the uncooperative book trolley in tow.

Dammit! Judar sighed and flopped back down on the couch with his head buried in his hands – he really needed some damn sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yaayy! Chapter two! Uh, it’s come to my attention that Hakuryuu, in fact, loses both his legs in the manga… but I’m too lazy to explain how he’d be functioning in our society with three prosthetic limbs – I know it’s possible, but for the purposes of my story, it’d be real difficult. Kudos to any of you out there living with amputations and such though – y’all got my mad respect, you’re way tougher than I could ever be. That being said, I hope you guys are liking my little fic here! Anywho, why’s Jud afraid of loud noises? Stay tuned to find out!


	3. Tripping, Brothers, and Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Hope y'all ate till you couldn't move! I know I did, anyway a gift for you!

Hakuryuu

Hakuryuu was kind of disappointed to find out that the occupant of the nap corner this morning was not, in fact, the raven haired boy Judar. Not that he wanted to see him or anything. He had just gotten used to the red eyed man’s presence in the room. Yeah. That was it. Hakuryuu didn’t have time for it to be anything else. Regardless, he was sorely tempted to wake the blond girl up – simply for not being who he wanted it to be. He didn’t – he wasn’t that mean, instead he went on about his day as if he did not, in fact, miss Judar’s presence.

 

“So… tired…” He mumbled with a huge yawn, while reaching up to grab a book from the top shelf – which proceeded to fall off and whack him on the head. “Ow! Dammit!”  
He heaved a sigh and struggled to pick up the fallen projectile without falling over himself – only to be saved by a random arm entering his vision and grabbing the object of his struggle. He looked up in surprise to be met with a face full of hair – smells like peaches, he thought absentmindedly, before falling to the carpet.

“Jeez man, can’t you manage to stay out of the floor?” A familiar voice teased. Hakuryuu looked up, his face heating.

“I think it’s you – you’re just bad luck. Seriously, this only happens when you’re around.” He replied with a small smile. The raven haired boy chuckled and helped him up before handing him the fallen book and bowing dramatically.

“My apologies sir, can you ever forgive me?”

“Stand up, you moron!” The blue eyed boy growled, blushing profusely. 

“Anything you request of me, my liege.” Jud breathed into his ear, having straightened up and come very close before Hakuryuu had even registered what happened.

“Jud, stop teasing me, please?”

“Aw, but what fun would that be, little prince?” Hakuryuu blushed again.

“What is your obsession with calling me prince anyway?” He sighed, it’d been two weeks since he’d first met the strange red eyed man, and this constant flirting game was secretly the highlight of his day. He was curious though about the pet name – true his family was wealthy, but he was no prince – not even heir to the family fortune, that would be his older stepbrother En. Hakuryuu would have to make his own way in this world, and he was determined to only depend on his family as a last resort – hence the work study job. 

“Because it gets such a cute reaction out of you.” The other boy grinned, leaning forward and pecking Hakuryuu on his burned cheek before disappearing around the shelf. Hakuryuu stood there in shock for what felt like ages – good hand held to bad cheek. Holy fucking shit, had Jud just kissed him?

 

“Hey, Ryuu, you know you really don’t have to keep this job, right? The family fortune can pay for you too.” His roommate and stepbrother, Ha, grinned at him as he appeared from around the corner of the shelf.

“Hey, Ha, and yes I know, but I don’t want to be a burden to En now that he’s basically running the family – besides you know how my mother is.”

“True that on the bitch – I seriously have no idea what either of our fathers saw in her.” 

“Me either, seriously – could you find a worse person on the face of the planet?”

“Maybe… if you looked really fucking hard.” Ha grinned, coming to thump Hakuryuu on the back and effectively making him drop all the books he’d been cradling. “Oops. Sorry man, here.” 

“Dammit, Ha!” The blue haired boy growled at his crazy brother, bending down to help him pick up the scattered mess. “Be more careful, would you?” He chuckled slightly.

“What fun would that be?” the redhead laughed, dumping the books back in Hakuryuu’s grasp before disappearing again. 

“Way to show up just to be annoying….” Ryuu called after him, shaking his head with a small smile at the slightly older, and significantly shorter, boy’s antics. 

 

Judar

Where the hell had that come from? He’d just kissed Hakuryuu on the cheek like some love-struck teenage girl! Fuck! What was wrong with him? He had way too much on his fucking plate to be pining after some guy he barely even new. And besides, he was a grown ass man; he didn’t need to be fucking pining after anyone! Goddamn it! He flopped down on the couch with his hair in his fists – grateful at least that his nap couch had finally been vacated. He wasn’t really caught up on the fact that Hakuryuu was a guy – Jud had been with both sexes, and it had been fine either way. The thing that was bothering him was that he already felt so strongly for some guy he’d only just met a few weeks ago! He’d never really felt that much for anyone before… He needed to get his shit together. He needed to do his fucking homework. Instead he released his hair with a jerk, rolled over on his side facing the couch back, and tried to take a damn nap – maybe when he woke up his fucking brain might make a little sense. Yeah, this was probably just because he hadn’t gotten any sleep last night. Fucking Ja’far and his sexy boy-toy always up all hours of the night. Jud heaved one more aggravated sigh before he managed to fall asleep, and of course, he dreamed of a certain blue eyed boy. 

\-----------  
“Ryuu? What are you doing?” the raven haired man asked, looking down at the figure laying prone on the grass. The blue eyes opened with a start and met his unnatural red in question. 

“Nothing, Jud what are you doing here? It’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” He asked, reaching into a nearby tree to grab a perfectly ripe peach.

“This is my family’s land, if my mother knew you were here…” The burned man trailed off with a barely perceptible shudder.

“Mother? Why would she care if I were here?”

“They don’t approve.”

“Approve of what?”

“My –" 

\----------  
Jud woke up with a start, his bleary red eyes meeting a very familiar set of mismatched blue. He always did think it was curious how Hakuryuu’s burns had affected his eye color – the one on the burned side being a few shades lighter than the other. He’d been meaning to ask if it affected his vision. Jud shook himself out of his musings.

“Ryuu?”

“Morning.” The shorter boy grinned.

“Morning? How long have you been there?”

“Mmm… not long, d’you know you said my name in your sleep? So what were you dreaming about, hmm?” 

“Nothing you little pest!” Jud growled, blushing brightly at the thought of Hakuryuu catching him dreaming of him.

“Oh? Cause I think you were dreaming about me.” Ryuu grinned teasingly, before leaning down to – oh, shit! Was he going to kiss him?

“Ryuu?” Jud breathed questioningly – before the other boy’s weight landed squarely on top of him. The blue eyed boy blushed brightly and scrambled to get off of him.

“Sorry!” He squeaked, humiliated. Jud caught his good wrist as he went to get up and pulled him back down onto the couch, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy.

“S’okay Ryuu.” He grinned. “So, would you like to go out for coffee sometime?”


	4. Of Dates and Asshole Boyfriends, Who Maybe Aren't So Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Moment you've all been waiting for! Jud and Ryuu getting ready for their date! posting as two separate short chapters! Hope you like.

Judar

Jud was so fucking excited. Or scared. He really wasn’t sure which was more accurate at this point. All he knew was Ryuu had said yes! Fucking hell, he needed to calm his shit. Whatever! They were going out for coffee today! He grinned as he wrestled his way out of his tight fitting shirt and wandered to the bathroom for a hot shower.

“Wise men say, only fools rush in…” He cheerily sang the old Elvis tune as he lathered his peach scented shampoo into his long hair. “But I can’t help, falling in love with you…” 

He continued humming the sappy old song on his way back down the hall and into his dorm room, tossing open his wardrobe with a smile to search out a suitable outfit for the day.

“Well, someone’s in a good mood.” Sinbad grinned, peaking around the wardrobe door as he leaned on the wall.

“Huh? Shut up!” Jud yelled with a start. “What the fuck are you doing in here without your boy-toy, anyway?”

“Ja’far went out to pick us up some dinner, told me to set up the room for our date night – you’re welcome to join, we’re just watching horror movies.” The larger man grinned, flopping onto his roommate’s bed.

“No thanks. I’ve actually got a date of my own tonight.” The raven-haired man grinned back at the violet. “Seriously, why don’t you guys ever have date-night in your dorm?” 

“Because, my roommates are crazy and a mess, and it drives Ja’far up a wall.” Sinbad scoffed, “So, who you got a date with?”

“None of your damn business.” 

“Oh, come now Judar, I know you don’t like me, but let’s be civil.”

“I like you fine, I just wish you’d let me sleep now and again.”

The purple-haired man stopped short, seeming to think about this statement for a bit.

“Oh, man, I’m sorry. I just realized that we’ve been really inconsiderate about that – we’ll I have. It’s not Ja’far’s fault, I hope you know that. I’m really stupid and demanding.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m not all that mad; we can work it out later, okay?” The red eyed man smiled. “Now, if you refuse to stop making a nuisance of yourself, the least you can do is help me figure out what to wear.”

“Hmm, this one.” Sin replied, having come over and searched a shirt out of Jud’s crazy mess of a closet, he couldn’t help it, he liked clothes. He shook out the shirt the other man had found, a soft knit royal blue tee, and grinned, it was perfect. He tugged it over his head and fluffed his long hair out of the collar as the larger man went burrowing for a nice pair of jeans. Jud smiled dreamily, going back to humming “can’t help falling in love,” thinking how great it would be if he could find a way for his relationship with Sinbad and Ja’far to always be as nice as Sin was treating him today. Maybe he and Ryuu could double date with them sometime. 

“Shall I say, would it be a sin…” Jud shook his head and collapsed onto his bed with a groan, causing Sin to look up out of the wardrobe in alarm. “What the fuck am I doing?!” 

“Seems to me you’re getting ready for a date – and freaking me out a little.” Sin chuckled.

“No, not that. Sorry. I just… ugh! Why am I so fucking excited? I barely even know this kid! But…”

“But, you really like him?” The golden eyed man smiled gently, sitting on the edge of Jud’s bed and patting his leg comfortingly. 

“Yes! And I don’t know why!” He cried, sitting up with a jolt and thumping his face into the other man’s shoulder with a moan. “I should not be this worked up over some guy.” 

Sin chuckled and patted the other man’s hair without missing a beat. “You know, it was similar for me with Ja’far. I still don’t understand what it is I love so much about him. So, I guess, my advice is go with it – you might be surprised by how well it turns out.”

Jud peaked up through his bangs at the golden eyed man. “No. You’re the drunken asshole who crashes in my room; you’re not allowed to be wise.” 

Sin glanced down at him, not sure whether he was serious or not until the younger man smiled and shoved off of him. He grinned and shook his head at the raven’s antics, passing him the jeans he’d unearthed from the messy closet.

“Fucking hell, thanks.” Jud sighed, scrubbing his face with his hand and shimmying into the dark colored skinny jeans. He dug around for a moment for his hairbrush as Sin looked on with a vaguely bemused expression. Fuck, he needed to clean. 

“Looking for this?” The larger man laughed holding up the offending object. Jud snatched if from him and began jerking it through his long hair before tying it back in a braid. He released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, and gazed at the mirror.

“What do you think?”

“You look great man, knock ‘em dead.”

“Thanks, you know, you’re not half bad.” Jud grinned, before swooping up his keys and wallet and striding from the room, ushered out by Sinbad’s mock salute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if you've never heard it, the song Jud is singing is "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley. Magic! has a pretty good cover of it as well, check them out!


	5. The King of Braids Strikes Again!

Hakuryuu

Ryuu stumbled out of the shower room excitedly and limp-ran down the hall back to his room. He couldn’t believe the gorgeous raven-haired man had actually asked him out on a date! Holy fuck! What the hell was he going to wear?

“Ha! Ha, I need you! Please, help me?” He called, rushing as best he could into the room.

“Ryuu! What’s the matter?” Ha mumbled, jerking awake worriedly.

“Please! I want to look good for my date later! Please, help me find something to wear?”

“Is that it? Ryuu! You scared the piss out of me!” The redhead glared at him from beneath his blankets, taking in the sight of his scarred younger brother, wrapped in a towel at the waist, dripping wet, with a pleading expression on his normally stoic face. He heaved a sigh and disentangled himself from the covers. “Fine. I’ll help.”

“Really? Thank you!” The indigo-haired boy grinned brightly, an expression Ha hadn’t seen on his younger brother’s face in a long while.

“Yeah, whatever.” Ha grumbled, going to rummage through Ryuu’s sparse closet. Ryuu flopped down on his bed and readjusted his prosthetic leg, which he hadn’t actually put on properly in his rush to get back from his shower, and as a result it was pinching rather awkwardly. “Ryuu, your clothes are so drab and boring.”

“My clothes are fine!” The blue eyed boy huffed indignantly.

“Not if you want to look nice on a date. Here, wear these.” Ha replied, tossing Ryuu a dark pair of jeans before going to his own closet and digging through the colorful assortment of garments there. He finally settled on a tight fitted white tee and tossed it at his brother, who was currently reaching for his hairbrush. “No.”

“The fuck do you mean ‘no?’ I’ve got to brush my hair.”

“No, because heaven help me, you’re going to look good today, which means your hair is not going in its usual shitty pony-tail. And I swear to all the gods, if you put that ratty ass hoodie on, I will beat the living fuck out of you.” Ha responded with a grin.

“But…” Ryuu protested with a blush.

“But, nothing. You’re an attractive guy, Ryuu. And if this… guy?” The blue-eyed boy nodded, “if this guy likes you, then he must think so too. So, you’re gonna show off those good looks of yours, and fuck everyone else who might think less of you just for a couple of scars.” Ha brushed Ryuu’s bangs back from his eyes, exposing the tears that had risen there. “Hey, now. Don’t cry. It’s been years since I’ve seen you cry. Remember when we used to call you crybaby? We’ve not been able to in ages. Crybaby.”

“Shut up!” Ryuu sniffled, wiping his eyes angrily. He couldn’t believe that after all these years of purposely not crying; Ha had broken him simply by being nice.

“Nope. I’m not gonna shut up until you stop crying! Crybaby, Crybaby!” The redhead teased, chuckling and dodging away as Ryuu tossed his hairbrush at him. Ha laughed louder and picked up the projectile. “Come on, let me fix your crazy hair.”

“Did the king of random braids just call my hair crazy?”

“Yeah, well at least I do something with mine rather than just throwing it into a knot and hiding it under a hood. Honestly, why do you even have hair?” Ha quipped, fiddling with one of the small braids in his bangs. With a derisive snort Ryuu consented to letting the redhead do something with his hair. Ha stopped to first help Ryuu put on his shirt and prosthetic arm. 

“There you go.” Ha smiled a few minutes later, taking in the product of his handiwork. Ryuu now stood with his hair long hair pulled back into a loose bun, with a braid pulling his bangs back from his eyes. 

“I look like a girl.”

“You look nice, now hush up and go show that man what he’s been missing.”

Ryuu grinned down at his older brother, grateful for the crazy kid’s help and his antics, which had made Ryuu forget how nervous he was about this date for a little while. He had to admit, he did look kind of good, if you could get past all the scars. He took a deep breath, thanked his brother, and with a final wave, trotted happily off to meet Judar at the library.

“Hey! Crybaby! I’ll probably go spend the night with Mei tonight and study for our sociology exam.” Ha hollered after him with a wink, as the doors to the elevator slid closed. Ryuu leaned against the wall, blushing at the implication. He really hoped this date went okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, What do we think? I hope y'all are enjoying my little fic! Until I return, Everybody have a Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays! Whatever you celebrate I hope you have a great time with it! Enjoy this little life we are given my friends!   
> ~Sociopath out~


	6. Ye Old Coffee Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, all you humans and what-have-ye that may or may not have stumbled upon my little fic here by accident or on purpose! First timers, welcome, welcome! Old flames, you know I love you! Anywho, here it is. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. Happy friggin’ Birthday to me! Judar and Hakuryuu are GOING ON A MOTHER FLOCKIN’ DATE! THAT’S RIGHT BITCHES! Now, sit back and enjoy all the cute!!!

Judar

               Hakuryuu walked into the library and Jud had to pick his jaw up off of the white tiled floor. He looked so…. beautiful. Sexy. Alluring. All those good words that describe someone that you just want to latch onto and never let go of, ever again. Jud watched as the indigo-haired boy smiled shyly and brought his good hand up to the back of his head in his passive show of anxiety. Shaking himself out of his stupor, the raven trotted over to say hello.

                “Hey there, Ryuu.” He smiled nervously, bringing his own hand up to mirror Ryuu’s posture. Shit! Why was he so nervous? Fuck! It was just coffee, right? But, damn, he’d never laid eyes on something more _adorable_. He just wanted to do whatever it took to make Ryuu’s smile genuine.

                “H-hey, Jud.” The blue eyed boy stuttered, seeming to notice his awkward posture and bringing his hand down to hang at his side, where Jud promptly caught it, and pulled him close for a hug. He could feel the smaller boy stiffen slightly against his chest before relaxing into the embrace.

                “So, coffee?” Jud chuckled, tilting Ryuu’s face up toward his own.

                “Y-yeah, coffee.” Ryuu replied, backing out of the circle of the taller man’s arms. He turned away with a blush, glancing towards the coffee shop in the distant reaches of the library’s lobby, and then turned back, holding his hand out to Jud. He felt his red eyes crinkle into a smile as he reached for the smaller man’s hand.

                “So… you look really fucking nice, not to say that you don’t always look nice, but like today there’s just something that’s kind of like _wow_ , you know?” The raven babbled as they made their way across the floor, him being extra careful to let Hakuryuu set their pace. He noticed the other’s lips quirk into a smile and opened his mouth to continue the incessant stream of chatter, internally berating himself to just _shut up_ , before Ryuu pulled him to a stop and actually laughed aloud.

                “What’s so funny?” He asked quietly, a small blush creeping its unwelcome way onto his cheeks.

                “You. You’re so… perfect.” Ryuu grinned, rising onto his tiptoes to peck Jud on his heated cheek, before tugging him off towards the coffee shop once more. Jud blushed all the harder and determined to cease his nervous babbling, free hand pressed to his cheek; he consented to be dragged into the warm little alcove.

                “Ye Ole Java Shoppe.” Ryuu chuckled at the cheesy name of the shop as he trotted up to the counter. Jud stopped and stared at him as he studied the menu items, admiring the way his hair fell over his brow, and the way he held his face in his hand as he came to a decision. He shook his head, and went to join the shorter man at the counter, pulling out his tattered wallet to pay for their drinks.

 

Hakuryuu

                Ryuu couldn’t help but grin as he noticed the gorgeous man staring at him as he scanned the items on the menu. He brought his hand up to his mouth to hide the smile playing at his lips. He turned as Jud joined him at the counter, leaning close as the raven pulled out a ratty _Lord of the Rings_ wallet.

                “You don’t have to pay.” He said gently, taking Jud’s hand over the adorably geeky wallet.

                “Course I do, I invited you on a date, I’m paying.” The red eyed man insisted, “Now, order whatever you like, my treat.” He grinned, and leaned down to peck the indigo-haired man on his burned cheek. Ryuu blushed brightly and ordered a black coffee. Jud pulled a face at his choice before ordering a pumpkin-spice latté with extra whipped cream, and a slice of butternut bread to share.

                “Like a little coffee with your cream?” Ryuu chuckled.

                “I figured you’d judge, drinking it nasty and black like that. Guess we know which one of us is the real man, hey?” Jud grinned back.

                “I always add just a touch of sugar, can’t handle it all the way black.” Ryuu conceded as they wandered towards a corner table. Ryuu blushed as Jud pulled out his chair for him, and cracked up as the taller boy smacked him in the face in the process of scrambling out of the way.

                “Shit! Ryuu, I’m so sorry!” Jud exclaimed, fumbling to right his mistake.

                “It’s fine, it’s fine.” Ryuu laughed, motioning for him to sit down. With another mumbled apology, Jud sat. Ryuu grinned at Jud, glad to see that the fucking gorgeous man was just as nervous as he. He nursed his coffee for a moment before reaching his good hand across the table to hold the red eyed man’s hand, successfully knocking over his own coffee cup in the process.

                “Dammit!” He yelped, swiping at the hot liquid with a napkin. Jud chuckled and trotted off to find him some more napkins and another cup of coffee. He returned to the table to find Ryuu blushing profusely with his head leaned on his prosthetic. He glanced up just in time for Jud to head-butt him, as he’d been leaning down to attempt to place a comforting peck on his cheek.

                “Ow! Fuck, I’m sorry, Ryuu.” The raven grumbled, flopping into his seat.

                “No, it’s okay. Thanks, Jud.” Ryuu grinned, leaning across the table and carefully avoiding both coffee cups as he took the red eyed man by the hand. Jud glanced up between his bangs and smiled softly back. Ryuu blushed and stared down at their clasped hands.

                “Hey.” Jud prompted after a moment, with a gentle bump to Hakuryuu’s good knee beneath the table. Ryuu looked up, vaguely startled. “What’s your favorite movie?”

                “Hmmm… Probably Miyazaki’s _Princess Mononoke._ ” The blue eyed boy responded after much deliberation. “I really like Studio Ghibli films, and just about anything Disney… I know, I’m a big baby. I do like other stuff too, action movies, horror and the like…”

                “I get it,” the raven grinned, “if you want to know a secret; my favorite movie ever is _Tarzan_. Though, to tell the truth, I’m a huge geek too, so basically anything sci-fi or fantasy and I’m there like mustard on biscuits.”

                “Did you just make a _Sling Blade_ reference?” Ryuu smirked, unconsciously rubbing slow circles on the back of Jud’s hand.

                “I speak in fluent movie quotes. It’s a gift.” He replied, red eyes twinkling merrily. “You know, I’ve seen quite a few Miyazaki movies, but I don’t think I’ve watched _Mononoke._ ”

                Hakuryuu quietly released Jud’s hand, chugged the rest of his coffee, and stood slowly up from the table, admiring the way the raven’s red eyes shifted when he was confused, and with his hand held out gallantly stated:

                “We can fix that.”

                Jud grinned and took his offered hand, consenting to be led back to Ryuu’s dorm.

                “Just sit wherever you want, this bed’s mine, you’re welcome to it.” The indigo-haired man smirked as Jud yawned.

                “M’kay,” Jud’s lips formed a drowsy sort of smile as he perched on the edge of Ryuu’s bed. “Who do you room with?”

                “My stepbrother, Kouha. He’s at our older brother Mei’s room tonight studying for something.” Ryuu explained as he dug through the messy piles of colorful fabric and video games on Ha’s side of the room to find their DVD stash.

                “Aha! Found it!” He grinned, holding up the slightly scratched disk victoriously. “Mind cleaning this for me?”

                “Sure thing.” Jud replied, reaching for the disk. When he was done Ryuu popped it into the DVD player and shoved the red eyed man farther back onto his bed before hopping up onto it himself. Jud rolled his eyes and kicked off his shoes, motioning for Ryuu to get comfortable against his chest. The blue eyed boy grinned, wriggling out of his own shoes before settling in with his back pressed to Judar’s warm chest, the taller boy’s arms looped gently around his torso. Ryuu smiled as he snuggled closer, he couldn’t believe he already trusted this guy so much, but here he was, cuddling and watching his favorite movie with him. Maybe, just maybe, his life was looking up.

               “Hey, Ryuu?” Jud started, waiting for the smaller man to turn slightly and meet his eyes before he continued, “We should definitely do this again.”

               In lieu of a reply, Ryuu leaned up and _finally_ brushed his lips across Judar’s, smiling as Jud leaned in and gently kissed him back.

               The taller man broke away with a giant grin. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada! The date is complete! I’M SO BAD AT WRITING CUTE RELATIONSHIP THINGS! AHH!! Haha, so what do you guys think!? I hope you like. Let’s see… Ryuu likes Disney movies ‘cause they make him feel better when he’s down, Jud likes “Tarzan” cause he likes the idea of finding happiness even if you grew up under some really bad circumstances with an unusual parental figure (to be explained later). I realize this pairing is generally a little rougher, and we may get their eventually, right now though, Ryuu just needs somebody to take care of him and Jud is happy to fit the bill. Man/boy usage… they’re at that age where either apply, and I don’t like calling them either/or so you get both, sorry.
> 
> Studio Ghibli films are glorious, if you’ve never watched them, find them! Your life is not complete. “Spirited Away” is my personal favorite. “Sling Blade,” good old movie, check it out, especially if you like mustard on your biscuits (Gross). Sorry for the long notes! Hope you like, review if you will! Or if you’ve got questions or whatever, I’m open to converse!
> 
> Until next time my friends, toodaloo.


	7. When Virgins and Geeks Collide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all! Sorry for the stupidly long break, my life got super crazy there for a bit… well, crazier than normal. Anywho, welcome back! I have returned to fuck up your life with more fluffy Juhaku shit, owning nothing but this giant ass pile of homework that I’m avoiding like hell. So, enjoy, or not, I can’t tell you how to live your life, I can only offer suggestions.

Hakuryuu

            It had been about a week since their disastrous coffee date, turned nice movie night, and Ryuu was completely, absurdly, stupidly obsessed with Judar. And to tell the truth, he really didn’t mind so much anymore. He was still busy as hell, and most days the two only got to see each other in between Jud’s random naps at the library, which had lessened in number of late since his roommate(s) had finally gotten the picture, but for the first time in years the blue-eyed boy was actually fucking happy. He smiled all the time now, which to be honest, it had been so long since he had that his fucking face hurt. Also, he’d started cussing way more fucking often since hanging out with the bad-mouthed raven, but damn did that mouth look sexy forming around a bad word. Shit! Ryuu, dammit, focus. He berated himself, after realizing he’d spaced out and wrote “The world needs to get a fucking grip.” In his US Government essay. He quickly erased it and checked over the rest of the essay for screw ups before continuing to write it properly. Upon finishing it he threw his shit in his pack and trotted to the library as quickly as he could to meet Jud for lunch before the other man had to run to his Medieval Literature class. Ryuu didn’t think he’d ever get over the way the raven’s red eyes would light up every time he spotted him walking through the door. He still couldn’t understand what it was about him that the gorgeous creature found so alluring.

            “Hey there, handsome.” Jud grinned, hopping up from his chair to offer a chaste kiss. Despite all talk about horny college kids, nothing had actually happened between the two of them. They had chatted lightly while on their date the other night and Jud had left not long after the movie was over. They hadn’t even made out. It was nice to have a relationship that didn’t completely revolve around the idea of sex. Ryuu loathed admitting it, but he was entirely a virgin in every plausible way. He blushed at the simple thought of anything like that, especially with the rather glorious specimen of a man before him.

            “What are you blushing for?”

            “N-nothing.” Ryuu stuttered, blushing all the harder.  “Uh, so are you still free to hang out later?”

            “Yep, for however long you want, Sin and Ja’far requested the room to themselves tonight, so I’ll probably wind up fucking sleeping in here.” Jud grinned, wrapping his arm around Ryuu to drag him over to the little table in the coffee shop where he’d laid out his lunch.

            “Really? You… you don’t have to. Sleep in here, I mean, Ha is spending the night with Mei again tonight, so… y-you could stay. With me, I mean.” Ryuu rattled off quickly, still nervous from his earlier thoughts.

            “You sure you’d be okay with that?” The Raven grinned teasingly. “You sound nervous, little prince.”

            “I… I mean, yeah. I’d like that.” Ryuu blushed at the husky danger in the other man’s voice, knowing he was teasing, but flustered nonetheless. “Spend the night with me?”

            “Okay.” Jud grinned brightly, dropping his teasing tone and fiddling with Ryuu’s fingers.

            “Okay.” Ryuu replied with a small grin of his own. He pulled his hand from the other’s playful grip to tug his lunch out of his bag; a single apple, and a bottle of water.

            “Is that all you’re eating?”

            “Didn’t have time to pack this morning.” Ryuu shrugged, taking a bite of his apple and pulling a face at its overripe flavor. Jud chuckled and scooted his plate over, gesturing an offering for the blue-eyed boy to share. “You sure?”

            “Yeah, go ahead, I brought too much anyway.” Jud smiled, magically finding another plastic spork in the depths of his backpack, and taking a huge bite of a fuzzy peach.

            “Thanks.” Ryuu smiled bashfully, accepting the offered cutlery, and stealing a bite of the raven’s salad, which, unsurprisingly, is full of chopped up peaches. “You have a serious fucking problem with peaches.”

            “Oi, don’t judge the man who offers you food. He might be forced to take it back.” Jud teased. “Besides, peaches are delicious and nutritious.”

            Ryuu laughed in response, and leaned over to kiss the red-eyed man on his slightly sticky, fruit flavored lips. They finish their shared lunch in a contented silence, before both had to run to their next responsibility, Jud to class and Ryuu to work.

 

Judar

            Jud was simultaneously fucking ecstatic, and terrifyingly nervous. He couldn’t believe that Ryuu had actually offered for him to spend the night. He didn’t think that the other boy had actually meant it in _that_ way, in fact, he knew that he didn’t. They’d talked about Ryuu’s trust issues and about his lack of relationships, hell, Jud was still caught up on the fact that he’d stolen the other boy’s first kiss. It was a huge step for the blue-eyed boy to trust him enough to invite him over. But the fact stood that the raven was fucking nervous as hell. What if he fucked something up? Needless to say, he couldn’t focus during his Medieval English lecture, or anything else for the rest of the day. He really hoped that whatever happened, Ryuu would still trust him afterward. God, what the fuck is wrong with me? He grumbled internally. Surely it’ll be fine, right? After all, he did know how to behave himself. Sort of. Okay… sometimes. It would be fine. Everything. Was. Going. To. Be. Okay. He thought, punctuating each word with a breath as he walked toward Ryuu’s dorm, shooting the younger man a text as he arrived to come let him in to the building.

            Before he’d been waiting too long a short hyperactive red-head appeared and gave him a once-over.

            “Uh, can I help you?”

            “Boyfriend?” The tiny boy grinned. “I approve. Though you should know, if you hurt my brother, I’ll be forced to feed you to our fucking psycho-bitch of a mother. It will not be pretty. And even my older brother’s miraculous medical skills will not be able to save you. I’m Ha, by the way.”

            “Uh, hi. I’ll keep that in mind. And you should know that I have no intentions of harming your brother in any way, I care about him a lot.” Jud replied.

            “Good. Sorry dude, its Ryuu’s first time in the ring, the warning felt necessary. Any who, I’m off to study with my older brother for an exam, take care of my boy, room 708.”

            “No, it’s actually kind of nice to know that you care so much about him. It’d be nice to have family like that. Oh, and my name is Judar, not ‘boyfriend.’”

            “Good to meet you, hope to see you around.” The redhead grinned wildly before taking off. Jud just shook his head before heading off to his boyfriend’s (still fucking weird to think in those terms) dorm. He knocked lightly, well lightly for him, which was more of a half-ass aggressive pounding, rather than full on trying to break the door in.

            “Come on in Jud, its unlocked.” He heard Ryuu chuckle from inside. So, he sidled through the door.

            “Hey.” He grinned.

            “Hey, yourself. Sorry, my leg was acting up and Ha offered to let you in, please tell me he didn’t threaten to feed you to our mother?”

            “He did actually, how’d you know?” The raven laughed, throwing his bag down in the corner and leaning down to give Ryuu a peck. “You okay?”

            “Yeah, just hurts sometimes, it’ll stop soon enough. And that’s been the running joke in our family for years. En’s first girlfriend got it from my older brother, Yuu, back when we were just cousins. I keep waiting for someone to make good on the threat. God, it would be horrifying.”

            “Anything I can do to make you more comfortable, my liege?” Jud asked, worried, even though the blue-eyed boy had assured him he was fine. “Also, I never want to meet your mother.”

            “ _I_ never want to meet my mother. And no, it’s okay, I’m fine. Taking off the prosthetics would help marginally, but I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

            “Ryuu, sweetheart, there is nothing about you that could make me uncomfortable. Here, let me help.” The raven grinned, crouching down and kissing the indigo-haired man’s good knee as he rolled the pant leg up on his other. “How high?”

            “Just below the knee. Can you figure out how to get it?” Ryuu mumbled, face heated and angled down, staring somewhere behind Jud’s shoulder.

            “I’m not an idiot, Ryuu. Besides, I did my research.” The raven grinned, fumbling only for a moment before pulling off the prosthetic with ease. He placed a gentle kiss on Ryuu’s now exposed knee, before moving up to kiss his lips just as gently. “Arm too?”

            “If you don’t mind.” Ryuu mumbled, his face buried in Judar’s shoulder.

            “Course I don’t.” Jud grinned, pushing the smaller man away gently before deftly tugging his shirt over his head. Jud sucked in a breath in shock, causing Ryuu to shy away. “Ryuu, hey, come back here. Can I… I’m not gonna hurt you, right?”

            “No. They’re just scars. Some of them are sensitive; others don’t really have feeling at all.”

            “Okay.” Jud replied, his fingers lightly slipping over the other man’s left shoulder, and deftly removing the prosthetic arm attached just above Ryuu’s elbow, dropping another light kiss to his shoulder. Then Jud backed away, his heart stuttering as he stared, taking in the full effect of Ryuu’s ravished body, the missing left arm, and right leg, his mismatched eyes, the scars covering over half of his torso, neck, the left side of his face, his shoulder, he could follow the angry red lines down to where they disappeared beneath his jeans, and reappeared at his now exposed knee.

            “I know. It’s not -”

            “Ryuu, you’re beautiful.” Jud grinned, cutting the other boy off. Ryuu, clearly surprised, finally met Jud’s red eyes with his mismatched blue. The taller man smiled and sank down onto the bed, feeling his heart race as he pressed his lips to his gorgeous boyfriend’s. He smiled as Ryuu pressed closer, tangling his fingers into Jud’s thick hair. They broke apart and the red-eyed man got up to pop in a movie at Ryuu’s direction, before coming back to see if the younger man needed help getting into his adorable _Batman_ pajamas.

“Na, I’ve got it. Thanks though.” Ryuu blushed, motioning for Jud to back off. The older boy conceded, and turned away to give Ryuu privacy, he was a gentleman after all, and change into his own _Deadpool_ sweats. He turned back and hopped onto the bed to cuddle against the other boy’s scarred back, causing Ryuu to shiver.

            “Hey, you cold?”

            “No, you just hit a sensitive place.” The blue-eyed boy laughed, shifting back closer to Jud’s chest. The raven grinned, leaning down and pressing his lips to Ryuu’s burned cheek, knowing for a fact that there was a rather sensitive area right between the corner of his eye and the top of his ear. Ryuu gasped and turned to meet his lips with a smile. Just in case, Jud pulled a cover up over the two of them, and they settled in for the night together.


	8. The Horrors of the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome, welcome one and all to the newest episode of my insane obsession with a couple of little adorable awkward turtles, otherwise known as Judar and Hakuryuu. So, sit back, shut up, and enjoy the ride. Getting some damn shit done this chapter!  
> I clearly did not make good on my promises from the previous chapter about updates. I’m SOOOO Sorry, I’m terrible at this, but it’s summer now and school shouldn’t be a problem for a little while, so I will be updating more regularly! I love you guys and thank you for sticking with me even though I’m horrible with updates. Stay tuned!

Judar

            Jud jolted awake to possibly the most terrifying noise he’d heard in his life. Hakuryuu was screaming, loudly, in his sleep. It sounded like something was killing him. As soon as he recovered enough from the shock induced panic attack to realize what was happening, the raven shifted and gently urged the other boy awake.

            “Hey, Ryuu, sweetheart, wake up.” He prodded, prompting blue eyes to snap open with a gasp. “Shh, hey, it’s okay, you’re safe, I’m here. I’ve got you.”

            “J-jud?” Ryuu stuttered, tears filling his eyes as he buried his face in the other man’s chest. “I’m s-sorry. D-did I wake you?”

            “Hush. It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize.” Jud grinned, his heartrate slowly returning to normal as he realized that they were both, in fact, safe. The red-eyed man fucking hated loud noises. He had ever since he was a little boy. He forced his breathing to be deep and slow to comfort the other man as he rubbed slow circles on his scarred back, letting his mind wonder back to that day – the worst day of his life.

 

            _It was a warm spring day, the peach trees were beginning to blossom, and five-year old Judar was happily curled up in a bright spot of sunshine coloring pictures for his mother while she read to him his favorite story. His father called from somewhere inside the house that he needed help with something. His mother smiled her beautiful smile and tugged her long raven black hair over her shoulder, closing the little book tight around its ribbon._

_“Come on little bird, let’s go see what papa needs.”_

_Jud grinned up at her and scrambled from his place in the grass, skipping happily to the back door. As soon as they reached the kitchen they heard a loud crash as the front door splintered and fell to the floor._

_“Knock, knock motherfuckers.” A gruff voice called into the room. Panic in her eyes, Judar’s mother promptly swept him up and dropped him into the pantry, banging the door shut as his father went into the living room,_ Louisville Slugger _held high. She turned away quickly, not noticing that the pantry door had swung back open slightly from the force of the slam, and followed her husband to the living room doorway, hiding just behind it._

_“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to get the fuck out of my house.” Papa said bravely, staring down the masked man with the shotgun._

_“I don’t think so, old man.” The masked man said, raising his gun to Papa’s face. Jud did his best to keep quiet, and squeezed his eyes shut in terror, but closed eyes did nothing to block the deafening bang from the double barrels of the gun, and the sickening thud of his father’s body hitting the floor. Frozen in his fear Jud could do nothing but watch as the masked man turned the corner and raised the gun at his mother as well. He watched, tears streaming, as the gun went off again with a bang, and his mother dropped in a pool of red on the floor. An involuntary sob escaped his lips, alerting the intruder to his presence._

_“What do we have here? A little fucking kid, eh? Congratulations ya little bastard, you get to come with me. I know people who’d pay good money for a pretty little thing like you.”_

“Jud! Jud, hey, you okay?” The raven came to with Ryuu shaking him, concern and panic in his mismatched blue eyes.

            “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry little prince, didn’t mean to worry you. You scared me is all.”

            “Liar. You’re not fine. No one who spaces out like that is fine.” Ryuu grumbled, climbing straddle of the taller boy’s waist and gently tugging him into a tight, one-armed bear hug. “You can tell me what’s bothering you if you want.”

            Jud smiled shakily and tugged the blue haired boy’s face up into a kiss.

            “You really want to know?” The smaller man nodded. So, Jud told him, everything that happened that day, and everything after. He told him how he had kicked and screamed when the masked man had picked him up, clawed and bit to no avail. How the man had clocked him over the head with the butt of the gun and Jud had woke hours later in a small concrete room, with nothing but a dog dish of water and his boxer shorts for company. How he’d been kept there for weeks, being beaten and raped until, by a stroke of dumb luck, the police found the masked man’s fingerprints on the knob of the pantry door. They came and rescued him, sent him to therapy, and set him up with a nice elderly woman a few towns over. When he was ready, they took him back to his house to collect a few of his things, his mother’s hair brush, his father’s favorite tie, and the little red storybook.

            “Jud, I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry.” Ryuu said, hastily swiping at his face.

            “Hey, don’t cry over me. It was a long time ago. I’m okay now. My adoptive parents are really nice, and I love them more than anything. Besides, I’ve got you now.”  Jud grinned sheepishly, brushing the tears from the younger boy’s face.

            “Well, at least we have something to add to the list of things we have in common.”

            “Ryuu, I don’t care about my fucked up past, and whatever happened to you, I’d like to know, but it’s not gonna change the way I feel about you. Ryuu, I think I’m in love with you.” Jud rambled, going quiet on the last part of his sentence, watching the younger boy’s expression shift as his confession processed.

            “Y-you… l-love…?” Ryuu stuttered with a vivid blush, Jud nodded in response, a blush creeping slowly onto his own cheeks.

            After a long moment Ryuu said:

            “I love you too.” And leaned in for a long kiss.


	9. Of Swimming and Douche Canoes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIIIIIVVVVEEEEEEEE!!!!!  
> Hey guys! Y’all should really stop listening to me when I promise updates. Haha, I’m super sorry about that. Life is bullshit, but you don’t wanna hear my problems. Regardless, here’s the new chapter of your favorite collegiate dorks, up to mischief again. Love to all of you guys out there who’ve stuck with me even though I’m terrible at this! NOTE: Trigger warnings! Homophobia, ableism, assault.

Ryuu

            The blue-haired boy was beyond late for class. That much was obvious buy the bright sunlight streaming through the window, but Judar’s body next to him in the tiny dorm bed was so warm and comforting that he just didn’t want to leave. With a quiet sigh he wiggled around until he could see his cell phone and check the time. Yep. Damn late. As in, he’d already “skipped” two of his classes late. Fuck. Oh well, he could go one day without. He chucked the cell phone back to its place on the desk and snuggled further into the warm body at his side. Jud groaned and rolled over, clutching Ryuu close to his chest.

            “What fucking time is it?” The raven mumbled, bleary eyed and nearly unintelligible.

            “Too late to get up.” Ryuu grumbled in response.

            “Shittt.” Jud responded, snapping awake. “Whatever, they can live without me for one day.”

            “That’s what I was thinking.” Ryuu smiled, then sat up.

            “What’re you doing? Lay the fuck back down.”

            Ryuu leaned down and brushed his lips lightly across his partner’s. Jud mumbled in happy surprise before dragging the blue-eyed man down for a deeper kiss. Pulling away with a smile Ryuu asked;

            “So what do you want to do today?”

            “Lay here?” The raven grumbled, still mostly asleep.

            “Mmm… maybe. But what if we get bored?”

            “Well,” the red-eyed boy started, flipping his partner to the pillows and leaning over him with a teasing grin, “I know a few things we could do to alleviate some of that boredom.”

            Ryuu blushed heavily, stuttering for a response only to come up with “guaahh…mma?”

            The raven burst out laughing at the flustered state of the other boy. “I was talking about going swimming, you fucking dork.”

            “S-swimming?” the indigo-haired boy sat up and whacked Jud upside the head with one of his many pillows. “You teasing ass jerk! You scared the piss out of me!”

            “Scared you? Or excited?” Jud asked, still laughing, and leaned down for a light kiss.

            “Fuck off.” Ryuu grumbled. “Swimming… swimming could be nice? I’ve not been in a long time. But…

            “I Swear to all the gods in the heavens Ryuu, if you say you’re ugly, _I will throw you over my goddamn shoulder and toss you in the fucking lake my-goddamn-self._ ” The blue-eyed boy stopped protesting abruptly.

            “Lake?”

            “Yes, m’liege, the lake. I know a spot that’s pretty secluded. I wouldn’t make you go somewhere public, I know you’re not fucking comfortable with it.”

 

Judar

            Two and a half hours later, the two were in Jud’s beat up purple jalopy of a car (lovingly named the Purple People Eater) heading to the lake. Jud was starting to get nervous about the venture. What if Ryuu got hurt? What if he drowned? What if there were actually people there and someone made fun of them? Fuck fuck fuck fuck! Why did he make that stupid suggestion in the first fucking place?

            “Jud?”

            “Yeah?” He glanced over, slightly jittery.

            “Calm the fuck down. It’s going to be fine. I’m actually still a pretty good swimmer like this. I can’t win any races, but I can swim.”

            “O…okay.” The raven replied, sucking in a deep breath to calm himself down, just a little. It didn’t fucking work.

            They pulled up to the lake without incident, and with luck, no-one would be set up down in Jud’s favorite cove. His foster parents used to bring him to this lake all the time when he was younger, he had some really fucking good memories in that cove. He smiled thinking back on it. He slammed the door on the Purple People Eater and trotted around to help Ryuu out of the car.

            “Jud, I’m perfectly capable of opening a door by myself.”

            “I’m trying to be nice! Don’t be a cock!”

            The smaller man laughed and pecked the raven on the cheek. “Come on, let’s go!” He turned and trotted off down the hill, ratty beach towel over one shoulder, leaving Jud staring after him in wonder, cooler in hand. The red-eyed boy grinned and followed him to the shore, fuck, he was falling fast.

            He found Hakuryuu sitting on the towel, staring frozen at the water.

            “What’s the matter Ryuu?”  

            “Nothing.” Jud flopped down next to him and gave him a disbelieving look. “I guess I just got nervous all the sudden. I know it’s fucking illogical, I just… I’m kinda scared.”

            The red-eyed man gave his partner a gentle, albeit wolfish, grin. “It’s fine, Ryuu. Here, I’ll help, if you want?”

            Ryuu nodded slowly before allowing Judar to pull his shirt over his head. “This okay?”

            Another nod and the raven shifted down to take his shoes, rubbing his fingers gently down the back of Ryuu’s good leg. The smaller man shivered, offering a weak smile. Jud stayed still for a second, his hands braced around the indigo-haired boy’s ankle. How the fuck to ask his next question? He pulled the holey sneaker from Ryuu’s good foot, only to be brushed off before doing the same to the prosthetic.

            “I take them off to swim, Jud. It’s okay, I’ve got it.” The blue-eyed boy bent over, hand shaking, to remove his prosthetic leg. The raven shook his head and grabbed the shaking digits, pulling them to his lips.

            “We don’t have to stay if you don’t want.” He mumbled against jittering knuckles.

            “I want to stay.” With that Jud gently removed his partner’s leg, and then the arm. He swooped Ryuu up into his arms bridal style, eliciting a startled squeal from the younger man.

            “Are you ready then, little prince?” He asked with a chuckle.

            “You’re a dick.” Ryuu replied, stretching up for a kiss. Jud was happy to see he was joking again and not lost in his anxiety.

            “I know, but you like it.”

            “Shut up and get in the water, you doofus.” Jud laughed and walked out into the still green water, easing Ryuu in once he was about waist deep. “And for the record, I was perfectly capable of getting in myself.”

            “Mhmm. Sure. Just accept that it’s much easier on both of us for me to carry you, kay?”

            “Okay.” Ryuu conceded begrudgingly.

 

            The two goofed off for hours, until Jud could tell that Ryuu was getting tired and didn’t want to admit it, and hell, he was damn tired himself. He swooped the younger man up astraddle of himself and planted a kiss on his wet lips.

            “Hungry?” He asked, just as a rock came sailing in and cracked Ryuu in the forehead.

            “Fucking Faggots!” The raven turned, his red eyes flashing murder, to face their assailant.

            “Ex-fucking-scuse me?” He yelled, checking to make sure that Ryuu was okay as he took in the tattooed blond redneck and his cronies.

            “You fuckin’ heard me you cocksucker, what’s wrong you couldn’t get a real man to fuck you so you settled for half of one?”

            “Jud…”

            “Ryuu, I’m going to let you go okay?” Angry red eyes met mismatched blue, Ryuu nodded.

            “Jud, it’s okay. I’m used to it.”

            “I don’t give a flying fuck what you’re used to, no one gets to talk to you like that, you got me? I’ll fucking kill them.” With that, the raven dropped the other boy into the shallow water, and snagged a length of driftwood to face the three fucking douche canoes who’d insulted his boyfriend. “Hey, you stinking speck of uneducated cunt-cheese, didn’t your mommy ever tell you not to make fun of people whose IQs are bigger than your ego?”

            The speck in question finally noticed the rage in the demonically red eyes coming at him with a rather hefty tree branch.

            “Yeah whatever, fuck you, faggot.” The blond yelled, tossing one more rock in the Raven’s direction before shoving at his cronies to run the hell away from the dripping demon.

“Oh, fuck man he’s a fucking freak!” Jud heard one of them yell as they ran back up the bank. Once he was sure the teens were really gone, Jud went back into the water and swooped Ryuu into a giant bear hug.

            “Are you alright, Ryuu?”

            “I’m fine, Jud, it’s just a bump, c’mon, let’s just go back home.”

            “Okay.” Jud brushed a kiss over the knot swiftly forming on the smaller man’s brow.

            They spent most of the ride home in silence, Jud holding tight to Ryuu’s hand.

            “I’m so sorry, Ryuu. Usually the cove is pretty deserted. The cock-nozzles usually stick to the public beach. Are you sure you’re okay?”

            “I’m alright. Hey, I had a good time, okay? It’s not your fault that some dumb shit sandwich happened by.”

            “I love you, Hakuryuu.” The raven replied, leaning over for a soft kiss.

            “I love you too, Judar.” The blue-eyed boy replied, then chucked softly. “Where the hell did you come up with ‘stinking speck of uneducated cunt-cheese?’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada! Update complete! I promise to start building into the main drama with the next couple chapters (whenever I get around to posting them, again, I’M SO SORRY!) so stay tuned! Chat me up if it pleases you to do so, hell, digitally kick my ass into gear if you must. Much love to all of you out there in internet land!


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